PubMed, PubMed Central, MedlinePlus : What’s the Difference?

1. PubMed, PubMed Central, MedlinePlus:What’s the Difference? Lea Leininger Health Sciences Librarian UNC Greensboro 12/9/2011

2. Outline • Comparison: PubMed, PubMed Central, MedlinePlus • PubMed Overview • PubMed Searching • MedlinePlus Overview • MedlinePlus Searching • Additional Resources and Help

3. Comparison PubMed Central PubMed MedlinePlus • Index/db for medical & related literature • > 20 million citations: Medline database and more • Scholarly & trade journals, a few pop • Good for high level audiences (upper level undergrads and above) • Consumer health web portal • Original content + links to librarian-reviewed sites • Written at 8th grade reading level • Good for general public + students needing basic info • Repository of free full text articles from peer reviewed medical & life science journals • Cover-to-cover content of back issues of some journals; other journals only provide selected articles • I only visit this site when following links from PubMed searches  These are all free sites from NCBI, the National Library of Medicine, and the NIH 

4. PubMed Overviewhttp://pubmed.gov PubMed (1946-present) = Medline + OLDMEDLINE + citations from publishers1 Medline (largest part of PubMed) is also available by subscription from commercial vendors • 5,400 current biomedical and health journals2 • Medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, health care systems, some life sciences • MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) indexing • Useful search limits but no peer reviewed limit • Links to free full text and article purchases PubMed Fact Sheet: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/pubmed.html Medline Fact Sheet: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/medline.html

5. PubMed Searching Typically give a huge pile of results. Keyword searching launches Automatic Term Mapping (ATM) to MeSHterms; if no match found, then to journal names, then author names1 Easy starting keyword searches • Follow Limits link then enter your keywords in the search box at the top • Or Clinical Query at PubMed home (for patient treatment questions) = your keywords. Subject strings and publication type limits run in the background. Search tips2: • Use search limits • “Force a phrase search” • Accepts AND, OR, NOT • Truncat* accepted but turns off Automatic Term Mapping 1. Automatic Term Mapping. Glossary. PubMed Tutorial: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/disted/pubmedtutorial/glosswin.htm 2. PubMed help: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK3827

6. MedlinePlus Overviewhttp://medlineplus.gov Consumer health questions1 • Tell the patron clearly that you can’t provide medical advice. • Online health information is not specific to one person’s situation. • Advise patron to discuss concerns and questions with a doctor. MedlinePlus= consumer health Web portal • Health Topics – Introductions + links to news, encyclopedia articles, videos, tutorials, clinical trials, directories, PubMed citations • Drugs, Supplements, and Herbal Information - from American Society of Health System Pharmacists • Videos, tutorials, interactive quizzes – Diseases, procedures, etc. • Directories-Links for finding health care professionals and facilities, checking licensing, etc. • Links reviewed for authority, bias, accuracy2 • 1. Ennis, L. (2010). It’s all about the people. In: The accidental health sciences librarian. Medford  N.J. Information Today  Inc. • 2.MedlinePlus Quality Guidelines: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/criteria.html

7. MedlinePlus Searching Includes health topic overviews, external links, drugs, medical encyclopedia, videos, news, etc. Search Tips1 • Automatic expansion to MeSH terms • “Force a phrase” • AND not needed, but accepts OR, NOT, -, +, * 1. Search Tips: MedlinePlus: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/searchtips.html

8. Additional Resources and Help PubMed Online Training (tutorials and recorded webinars): http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/disted/pubmed.html Gallery of Online Apps and Sites (NLM): http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mobile Evaluating Health Information (MedlinePlus page): http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/evaluatinghealthinformation.html National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) http://nnlm.gov/servicesor 1-800-338-7657 NN/LM Southeast Atlantic Region: http://nnlm.gov/sea • Webinars: http://nnlm.gov/sea/services/webconf/index.html • Consumer health classes (some online): http://nnlm.gov/sea/training/chis • SEA Currents Newsletter lists events open for general registration • Other workshops can be offered: http://nnlm.gov/sea/training/classes.html Other organizations: • ANCHASL (Association of North Carolina Health and Life Science Libraries) • MAC-MLA (Medical Library Association, Mid-Atlantic Chapter) • MLA (Medical Library Association)

9. Exercises • Participant Exercises:http://tinyurl.com/grsmedical • Presenter Answers for Exercises:http://tinyurl.com/grsmedicalpresenter

10. Questions? Thank you for your attention!  Contact Lea Leininger if you have questions: laleinin@uncg.edu Evaluation: http://tinyurl.com/grs-eval11

11. Upcoming Accidental Librarian Webinars • January 5: Creative Commons with Rosalind Tedford, Wake Forest University • March 8: International government information with Jim Church, University of California, Berkeley • Brought to you by the North Carolina Library Association’s Government Resources Section. Join us! http://www.nclaonline.org/government-resources